Growltiger is a fictional character appearing in both

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

's ''

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' (1939) is a collection of whimsical Light poetry, light poems by T. S. Eliot about Cat, feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It serves as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 ...

'' and

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

's musical ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

'' which is based on Eliot's book. He is described as a "bravo cat who lived upon a

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

", one who scoured the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

from

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, terrorizing the inhabitants along the river, including "cottagers", canaries,

geese A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyp ...

, hens, "pampered Pekinese", and the "bristly

Bandicoot Bandicoots are a group of more than 20 species of small to medium-sized, terrestrial, largely nocturnal marsupial omnivores in the order Peramelemorphia. They are endemic to the Australia–New Guinea region, including the Bismarck Archipela ...

that lurks on foreign ships". Growltiger is usually envisioned as a pirate, although he is never explicitly described as such. He has lost one

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

, and one of his

ears In vertebrates, an ear is the organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) body balance using the vestibular system. In humans, the ear is described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear co ...

is "somewhat missing" after an incident involving a

Siamese cat The Siamese cat (; แมวสยาม, Maeo Sayam; แมววิเชียรมาศ, Maeo Wichien Maat) is one of the first distinctly recognised breeds of Asian cat. It derives from the Wichianmat landrace. The Siamese cat is one ...

. "Growltiger's Last Stand" describes how he meets his fate when he least expects it. Besides the

musical setting in ''

'' the English composer

Humphrey Searle Humphrey Searle (26 August 1915 – 12 May 1982) was an English composer and writer on music. His music combines aspects of late Romanticism and modernist serialism, particularly reminiscent of his primary influences, Franz Liszt, Arnold Sch ...

composed a musical setting of "Growltiger's Last Stand" as the second of his ''Two Practical Cats'' for speaker, flute, cello and guitar.

''Cats''

In the

musical ''

'' the poem is used nearly verbatim as the lyrics of the song, except that one stanza has been cut. The song appears as a reminiscence by " Gus the Theatre Cat", who "once played Growltiger – could do it again". In most productions, the actor who plays Gus then becomes Growltiger, while Gus's companion Jellylorum becomes Growltiger's love interest,

Griddlebone ''Cats'' is a sung-through musical theater, musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is based on the 1939 poetry collection ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' by T. S. Eliot. The musical tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Je ...

. Growltiger's crew of cats is played by male members of the troupe with pirate accoutrements over their cat costumes. There have been two different "last duets" for Growltiger and Griddlebone to sing during this scene. In the original London production, they sing a setting of an unpublished T.S. Eliot poem, "The Ballad of Billy M'Caw". This poem is a reminiscence of good times at the "old Bull and Bush" and the crowd at that bar on a "Sattaday night", in particular the barmaid Lily La Rose and the parrot Billy M'Caw. The initial New York production of ''Cats'' replaced "The Ballad of Billy M'Caw" with a "pastiche Italian aria" titled "In Una Tepida Notte," which was "felt to be more of a crowd pleaser".Lloyd Webber, p.122. The lyrics for the aria come from the original Italian translation of "Growltiger's Last Stand". Lloyd Webber "much prefers" "Billy M'Caw", and in the 2003 UK touring production, "The Ballad of Billy M'Caw" was re-instated and has subsequently replaced the aria in most productions. After Growltiger and Griddlebone finish their duet, the Siamese cats, led by Gilbert (in the original London show and in T.S. Eliot's poem, renamed Genghis in the New York version), "swarm aboard" the barge. Griddlebone escapes in terror and the Siamese make Growltiger walk the plank, ending the song. (In the New York version there was a short sword fight between Genghis and Growltiger before Growltiger's demise). At this point, Gus returns with a short

reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

. "Growltiger's Last Stand" does not appear in the 1998 filmed version of the musical – Gus only sings his initial song. This was primarily due to the age of Sir John Mills, who played Gus in the filmed version, as well as time restraints.

Controversy

Eliot's poem "Growltiger's Last Stand" includes the racial epithet "

chink ''Chink'' is an English-language List of ethnic slurs, ethnic slur usually referring to a person of Chinese people, Chinese descent, but also used to insult people with East Asian features. The use of the term describing eyes with epicanthic ...

s" in reference to the

s. The word was used in early versions of the musical, but was later changed to "Siamese". The musical also received criticism as non-Asian cast members originally used "stereotyped Asian accents" when portraying the Siamese cats. By 2016, the song had been dropped from US and UK productions of the show altogether.

Actors who have played the part

Actors who have played the part on stage include Stephen Nathan,

Eddie Korbich Eddie Korbich (born November 6, 1960) is an American actor, singer and dancer. He was born in Washington, D.C., but grew up in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. Career 1980s He graduated from the Boston Conservatory with a B.F.A. in acting in 1983. In ...

, Bronson N. Murphy (US National Tour), Matt Bartlett, Christopher E. Sidoli, Stephen Mo Hanan (1983 Tony Nominee), Ryan Bailey, Sal Minstretta, Nathan Morgan, Kelly Robertson, Bill Remps, Ethan Jones, George Breynard and Christopher Scott. On screen,

Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage, and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is known ...

portrayed this role in the 2019 film adaptation.

Notes

*Lloyd Webber, Andrew (2005) ''Cats, Vocal Book'', R & H Theatricals, New York.

External links

Growltiger’s Last Stand
{{Cats navbox Songs about cats Songs about fictional male characters Poetry by T. S. Eliot Cats (musical) Race-related controversies in music